At this time in the day, Lydia was not in the office. Her daughter had been very sweet and could remain there quietly on her own.
At this moment, the father and daughter stared at each other silently and awkwardly.
Finally, the little girl felt bored, so she took a doll and starting playing with it.
Leo just looked at his daughter blankly, since he had no experience in raising or entertaining children.
Then, he plucked up the courage to break the ice. He managed to form a smile and asked, "Dear, can you tell Dad your name?"
The little girl raised her head, her big, wet eyes full of confusion.
"Dad, you don’t know my name?" She tilted her head and asked in a cute baby voice.
Leo panicked immediately, wondering, "Did I upset my daughter because I asked about her name?"
However, children's minds worked differently from that of an adult.
The little girl crawled on her hands and knees to his lap, opened her arms, and said with a silly smile, "Dad, hold me."
Leo looked at this little girl with glazed eyes and his heart skipped a beat.
He fell in love with this girl immediately.
He wanted to hug his daughter too but he was afraid that he might hurt her accidently, so he held the little girl up carefully with stiff hands.
For her part, the little girl put her hands around Leo's neck, kissing him on the face, and giggled. "Dad, my name is Emilia, remember?"
"Emilia, Emilia..." Leo repeated this name over and over again, trying to engrave it in his heart. He then replied hurriedly, "Yes, I've got it."
"What's your last name then?" asked Leo.
At the same time, he thought resignedly, "I've been away for five years. She must have taken her mother's last name, right?"
To his surprise, Emilia shook her head and said, "No, I don’t have the last name. My name is Emilia."
"Boom!" Leo was thunderstruck and quivered all over.
"I don't have a last name..." Leo stared rigidly at his daughter and self-blame was written all over his face.
He wondered, "Is it because Lydia doesn't know who Emilia's biological father is? She hasn't given Emilia a last name because she still holds on to a shred of hope that her daughter's father will come back one day or another?"
"Lydia..." He heaved a deep sigh.
Leo felt dejected and thought that Lydia must have had a very hard time in the past five years.
In an instant, he could not have felt worse about himself.
Suddenly, Emilia pinched Leo's cheeks and said with a pout, "All my friends have fathers but me. Now that you're back, can you promise me that you'll never leave me?"
Leo quivered slightly and hugged his daughter at once. He made a solemn oath to her, "I promise, I won't leave you ever again. I will always be with you."
"Really?" Emilia looked straight at Leo.
"Really," Leo nodded heavily and said, "and, you have the last name. It's Cohen. Your name is Emilia Cohen."
"Emilia Cohen..." The little girl said it a few times and seemed quite satisfied with her new name. Beaming, she exclaimed, "Yeah! I have the last name now. I'm Emilia Cohen..."
A genuine smile touched his lips as he watched his daughter cheering herself on.
Without realizing it, he had carried another grave responsibility on his shoulders.
He had served his country in the past.
From now on, he would live for his family, his wife and daughter.
All of a sudden, the office door was opened and a tall, beautiful woman rushed in.
She lunged at Leo on a pair of high heels and snatched Emilia from his hands.
Her beautiful eyes smoldered with anger as she questioned, "Who are you? What do you want with my daughter?"
An icy chill came at him through her gaze.
Leo gawked at the icy woman who was like a mother hen with one chick, and slowly widened his eyes in astonishment.
It has been five years but she's still the same as ever.
"Aren't you all impersonating her father for money? Let me tell you right now, there's no way that will happen!" A daunting craziness flickered deep in Lydia’s eyes. "I will never let anyone hurt Emilia."
Leo remained silent but the look in his eyes was downcast.
At the end of the day, it's my fault.
If I hadn’t been missing for five years, how could Emilia not know who her father was?
This gave people with ulterior motives an opportunity to take advantage of her.
"You're not Emilia’s father. Just stay away from her!" Lydia’s eyes were piercingly cold.
Leo shook his head and said, "Lydia, if you don't believe me, we can do a paternity test."
"I'm really her father, and also your husband who had been missing of five years!"
"Shut up!" Lydia exploded when she heard the words "Paternity test".
She slammed the desk heavily as if the topic touched a raw nerve. Her eyes were full of strong hatred and humiliation. She shouted, "I don't have a husband. He died five years ago! Get lost! Get lost!"
Looking at Lydia attempting to be strong despite her hysterics and red-rimmed eyes, Leo felt as if a knife were being twisted in his heart.
He thought to himself with a sigh, "The love and hate interwoven in the past five years can't be resolved so easily, it seems."
"I'll come to see you again until you accept me," Leo said to Lydia with a sincere gaze.
In shock, Lydia turned around and did not want to see him anymore.
Perhaps she had already believed him deep in her heart, only that she could not take it all it just yet.
She thought, "I'm no fool. Emila is afraid of strangers but she bonded with Leo, a man she just met. How could I believe that they're not related?"
Just as Leo was ready to leave, the door of the toy room was opened with a bang.
Emilia rushed out eagerly and clutched at Leo's pants, bawling miserably. "Dad, don't go, please don't go... Mom, don't drive Dad away!"
She wailed so bitterly that it caused pain to the heart of both adults.
Comments
The readers' comments on the novel: No 1 Supreme Warrior